Prachuap Khiri Khan ( th, ประจวบคีรีขันธ์, ) is a town in western

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. It is the capital of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province and is on the coast at one of the narrowest stretches in Thailand, only from the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

with

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Dan Sing Khon Singkhon Pass ( th, ด่านสิงขร), also referred to as Sing Khon and as Maw Daung after the name of the Burmese town west of the border, is a pass across the Tenasserim Hills on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, at an el ...

in the

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range ( my, တနင်္သာရီ တောင်တန်း, ; th, ทิวเขาตะนาวศรี, , ; ms, Banjaran Tanah Seri/Banjaran Tenang Sari) is the geographical name of a r ...

. The area has large

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

industries, in addition to being popular with Thai tourists. The town is 291 km south of Bangkok by road.

History

Prachuap Khiri Khan is home to a

Royal Thai Air Force "Royal Thai Air Force March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

base, and was an invasion point for Japanese troops on 8 December 1941, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. A commemoration is held each December to honour the 38 Thai airmen and civilians who died in the fighting against the Japanese 143rd Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Climate

Prachuap Khiri Khan has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Aw''). Seasons are not as distinct as in more northerly parts of Thailand; temperatures are quite similar throughout the year and the dry and wet seasons are not as clearly defined, with appreciable rain falling in all months. However, in general the months from December to April are drier with about in each month, while October and November are the wettest months with over each. The other months, from May to September, have an intermediate level of rainfall around .

Transportation

Prachuap Khiri Khan can be reached from

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

by train on the Southern Line from Bangkok railway station (Hua Lamphong). The main road, which runs past the city from north to south, is Route 4 ( Phetkasem Road). To the north, this road connects to

Phetchaburi Phetchaburi ( th, เพชรบุรี, ) or Phet Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phetchaburi Province. In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds" (''buri'' meaning "city" in Sanskrit). It is approx ...

, Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom and

; to the south, it connects to Chumphon,

Ranong Ranong ( th, ระนองPronunciation) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Ranong Province and the Mueang Ranong District. The town covers completely the area of the '' tambon'' Khao Niwet (เขานิ� ...

Phang Nga Phang Nga ( th, พังงา, , ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phang Nga Province. The town covers the whole ''tambon'' Thai Chang of Mueang Phang Nga district. As of 2005 it had a population of 9,559 and ...

, Krabi,

Trang Trang may refer to: Places * Trang province, Thailand **Trang, Thailand, capital city of Trang province **Trang Airport ** Trang railway station ** Trang River *Trang, a sub-district of Mayo district, Pattani province, Thailand * Trang (commune), ...

Phatthalung Phatthalung (, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phatthalung Province. The town covers ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and provi ...

and the border with

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

near Sadao. Prachuap Khiri Khan is served by Prachuap Airport, at the south end of town.

Industry

Australian company

ASC ASC may refer to: Educational institutions * Anglican Schools Commission, Australia * Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, located in Surigao del Sur, Philippines * Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia Organizations Australia * Australian Singi ...

and Thai company Silkline International formed a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

to build three Keka-class patrol boats for the Royal Thai Navy at Silkline's yard at Pak Nam Pran in Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Gallery

File:Province Hall Prachuap Khiri Khan 2.jpg, Provincial Hall File:Manaw Panorama1.jpg,

Ao Manao Ao Manao ( th, อ่าวมะนาว, ), meaning "Lime Bay", is a bay in the west side of the Gulf of Thailand. It is five kilometres to the south of Prachuap Khiri Khan in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. Geography The bay lies south of Prac ...

Bay File:Old Province Hall Prachuap Khiri Khan.jpg, Old Provincial Hall File:Prachuap Khiri Khan City Pillar Shrine.jpg, Pillar Shrine File:Prachuap Bay at Dawn.jpg,

Prachuap Bay Prachuap Bay ( th, อ่าวประจวบ, , ) is a bay in the west side of the Gulf of Siam or Gulf of Thailand. It lies off Prachuap Khiri Khan town, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. Geography Prachuap Bay lies north of Ao Manao and sout ...

at dawn

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Prachuap Khiri Khan province Myanmar–Thailand border crossings Cities and towns in Thailand